Maryland Public Libraries Select Ninth House for Statewide Libraries Management Training.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 22, 2002

Ninth House, the leading online business skills training provider, today announced that the Maryland Library Partnership is launching a management training program to 16 of 27 public library systems, incorporating

The Maryland Library Partnership is a nonprofit cooperative of public libraries that received a grant from the Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Library Development and Services to implement the first online learning opportunity for public library staff.

The Partnership is starting by developing library branch managers at libraries with Ninth House courses including Situational Leadership II(R) with Ken Blanchard, Self Management, and Capturing Brand You. The learning plan also calls for library administrators to complete the courses Partnering for Results with Larraine Segil and Situational Leadership II(R). After completion of each course, learners meet in groups to discuss and apply content to the demands of succession planning and the day-to-day challenges of managing people on the front lines of library customer service.

"Maryland Public Libraries provide services to more than 2.5 million Maryland residents with a ratio of about 1 employee to every 1,000 library-goers, so libraries are constantly looking for new ways to improve how they reach the public more efficiently, and training is key," said Stacey Aldrich, Public Library Consultant and DLDS grant monitor for the project. "In addition, a large number of our library staff are nearing retirement so we needed a way to get new managers and administrators up to speed quickly. Two of the library systems have already used Ninth House for management training, and were really excited about the effectiveness of the training and the resulting cost-savings. Based on their results we believe employees are receiving 10 times the training that they would receive just in classroom training -- for the same price."

"The Maryland Library Partnership is showing how a well-designed management development program incorporating the best elements of engaging online training and in-person knowledge training can allow its new managers to leap-frog ahead to advanced levels of performance," noted Jeff Snipes, president and co-founder, Ninth House. "Ninth House is pleased to be an integral part of the curriculum for this forward-thinking public agency that impacts so many lives."

"We looked at a lot of other online learning vendors, but Ninth House really has the design, quality and interactivity to make the learning effective. It was the best product we saw. And we've found the excellence continues with the ease-of-implementation, the pricing and the help desk support," continued Aldrich.

About Ninth House

By providing the most effective online business skills training available, Ninth House has become the training choice of leading organizations such as British Telecommunications (BT), The Department of Justice, CNA Insurance, Wells Fargo & Co., First Union National Bank, Indiana University Kelley School of Business and Empire BlueCross BlueShield. Ninth House's one-of-a-kind training courses combine the content of the world's foremost business thinkers, such as Ken Blanchard, Peter Senge and Tom Peters, with engaging, interactive delivery that aids retention and fosters real-world application. Ninth House courses, simulations and Instant Advice(R) can be accessed from a single desktop computer or can be made available across an entire enterprise, providing organizations with a rapid and cost-effective tool for developing shared management practices.

Headquartered in San Francisco, Ninth House has additional locations in Charlotte, N.C.; Dallas, Texas; Denver, Colo.; Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis, Ind.; Los Angeles, Calif.; New York, N.Y.; Freehold, N.J.; Seattle, Wash.; and Washington, DC.

Ninth House(R)and Instant Advice(R)are registered trademarks of Ninth House, Inc.